A Bradenton Beach man has been charged with murder by police in the city's first homicide in 14 years.

Kim Bean, 46, 203 Second St., was arrested Thursday after police found Carol Foreman, 56, dead in her home at 107 Third St. N., a victim of "blunt force trauma to the head," according to the report.

Bradenton Beach Police Detective Sgt. Leonard Diaz told The Islander that Foreman's ex-boyfriend Clifford Stien called paramedics and police Feb. 4 after finding her in her home after she failed to appear to clean his sister's apartment.

Diaz said signs of injuries prompted the investigation and, less than 36 hours later and after interviewing Bean at length, he confessed to the assault.

According to Diaz, Bean, Foreman and others were in Foreman's home smoking crack cocaine the night of Feb. 3. The other people in the home left, and Bean and Foreman were alone in the home when the two apparently got into an argument.

Diaz said Foreman allegedly picked up a wine bottle struck out at Bean. "He grabbed it from her and struck her on the forehead once," Diaz said, "and she fell to the floor. He grabbed his things and as he was leaving, she grabbed at his leg and tried to bite him. He said he kicked her once in the face, and said she was still alive when he left."

Foreman had been a cook at the Bridge Street Pier and Cafe for about five years, and was popular in the neighborhood, according to her landlord, Gale Carter. "She was trying to bring her life back around," Carter said.

Bean was a commercial fisherman, working as a stone crabber in Cortez. "He was a hard worker," said fisherman James "Wyre" Lee of Cortez. "He'd leave before the sun was up and come back after sunset."

Police are still interviewing witnesses, and the state attorney's office has yet to charge Bean.

The last homicide in Bradenton Beach was the Feb. 27, 1990, stabbing of Melanie Wright in the 2400 block of Avenue A, a case that has remained unsolved.

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